One Life, One Love
by tastelikemints
Summary: InuKai Problems, Problems, Problems...Kaidoh is beginning to hate love. Causes too many problems. COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Prologue**

"Ah. Kaidoh wait-"

Too Late. As Kaidoh turned his head around to find out who called him, he slipped in the mud and fell down towards the river. Kaidoh closed his eyes waiting for the water to come in contact with his body but it never came. Instead, he felt a tug at his shirt. Just at the last moment Inui had lunged forward in time to pull Kaidoh back from falling into the cold water. The force from the pull caused them both to fall back and into an odd position with Inui on top of Kaidoh. Inui was the first to recover therefore was the first to speak.

"Kaidoh, daijoubu?" asked Inui with a worried look as he pushed himself up enough to be able to see Kaidoh's face. Kaidoh, still recovering from the shock, looked into Inui's eyes -or what the glasses had covered up anyway- and gave him a nod. Inui couldn't help but stare at Kaidoh because to Inui, he was adorable which made him lean closer until they could feel each other's breath. Inui leaned down, lips almost touching…

_**RIINNGGGGG**_

Kaidoh opened up one eye, slammed his hand on his alarm clock to shut it up and got out of bed. A blush crept up on Kaidoh's face when he just remembered what he had been dreaming about. 'Why the hell am I dreaming about Inui?' A flash of Inui's smiling face appear in Kaidoh's head. "hissss...at least he will never know about this and I will make sure of it!" With that, he pushed the thought out of his head as he got up, took a shower and walked out the door with his bag over his shoulder as he started his jog to school.

Morning practices weren't usually bad. On the contrary, they were really pleasant for Kaidoh. But today really wasn't his day. It seemed that it had taken a turn for the worst ever since the weird dreams he had started having that involved him and Inui kissing. Fortunately for Kaidoh's sanity, he was able to somehow forget the dreams after an hour or so. It was like it had never happened. Today wasn't an exception- Kaidoh remembered the dream, and that would mean it wasn't going to be a good day.

To put it simply, if one domino falls, it'll tip the others to fall along with it. And that's just what happened to Kaidoh. The first domino that tipped was staying in dreamland too long. Kaidoh had to practically run all out to not be late for practice and have to run laps for that. He did luck out in making it to practice on time but ended up having to run 20 laps with Momoshiro for getting into a fight in the clubhouse. All throughout the run they kept arguing and pushing, trying to get in front of each other which resulted in another 20 laps for all the noise and disturbance they caused for people who were actually practicing.

By the time they were done, they were doing doubles practices. Inui and Echizen were waiting for the two to finish so they could have their match. Even though the two were tired out from their laps, it didn't mean that the fire went out. The determination to win was so high that if Inui and Echizen hadn't come in, they would have ended up starting a singles match. The bickering continued on during the match and all Inui and Echizen could do was endure it. Some time later, the game ended 6-4 with the Inui/Kaidoh pair winning.

Momoshiro slapped his forehead. "I lost to mamushi…"

"Baka! I heard that!"

Echizen decided to step in and try to stop this before they all had to run laps. Even though he would normally never do this, his sempais were giving him a major headache with all the bickering.

"Momo-sempai, you're too loud." After he said that, he decided to walk away before his sempai gave him an even bigger headache with his constant chattering.

Practice ended and to Kaidoh, it seemed like was the longest practice ever. After he changed, he went outside to wait for his sempai so they could walk to class. Ever since Inui had asked Kaidoh to play doubles with him, they had started to get as close as the Golden Pair were. Kaidoh would tell Inui almost everything. Almost. There were just some things that weren't meant to be said.

Sometimes there would be stuff Kaidoh would only confide in Inui. They would talk about Kaidoh's family, tennis, school, tennis, training, and some more tennis. Kaidoh didn't even realize when they had gotten that close. Usually he would push everyone away. He never really made any friends because he was always hissing like a snake and had that scary face on. But Inui didn't care. He looked past all that and saw the Kaidoh that was inside, just craving for some kind of friendship to form. His pride prevented him to be like Kikumaru, who wore his emotions and heart on his sleeve. Kaidoh shook his head.

/No. I'll never be able to wear my emotions on my sleeves./

**Inside the Clubhouse**

"Inui, wait!"

Inui was on his way out the door to meet up with Kaidoh until somebody, more like Fuji, held him back.

"Is there something you need, Fuji?" Inui really wanted to get this over with. It was cutting in his time with Kaidoh. They were supposed to be discussing some new formations and a new training program today. Inui let out a sigh.

/I guess it'll have to wait then./

"As a matter of fact, there is something. I need you to do me a favor," replied a smiling Fuji.

/This isn't going to be good./ a voice said inside Inui.

"I assume it's something Kikumaru won't do?"

"Well, it's not that he won't do it. He'll be glad. It's just that…it's more convenient for you, as she'll have the same classes as you," Fuji simply said.

"She?" A confused look appeared on Inui's face.

"Ah. She's my cousin. If you'll come with me, I'll introduce you to her. Mostly everyone is outside with her as Eiji can hardly contain his excitement." Fuji let out a chuckle. As Inui followed Fuji out the door, he couldn't help wondering about Fuji's cousin. His guess was that Fuji and his cousin were very much alike.

When they got out, a crowd was surrounding part of the fence. Inui's guess was that it was because of Fuji's cousin. Most of the regulars were there except for Tezuka and Kaidoh. Thinking of Kaidoh, Inui looked around for the person of his thoughts but couldn't find him.

/Probably left already./ Inui let out a silent sigh and looked up to see what, or rather, who, was going to be the favor Fuji had asked of him.

"This… is my cousin, Toriumi Shigeru. She's back from America and she will be attending our school for the rest of the year. So the favor is that you show her around school. Help her adjust. She's going to join the girl's tennis team so you can help her with school, tennis, and training."

"Toriumi Shigeru? Inui Sadaharu."

"Nice to meet you Inui-kun," said Toriumi politely with a bow and a genuine smile on her face that was similar to Fuji's. The only difference was that her eyes were open.

She had beautiful brown eyes and chestnut hair that perfectly framed her face. Her hair was 1 or 2 inches past her shoulders and her bangs were just two strands that reached her nose. Her body was astonishingly perfect and the Seigaku uniform made her look even more stunning. She was just as tall as Inui, he observed. He reminded himself he would need a new notebook to record all of her data.

"Ah. You too," replied Inui.

"Saa…I think Shigeru here has all the same classes as you so why don't you go and show her to class. Hurry up. You don't want to make her later for her first day do you?" and with that said, Fuji turned and walked back to Tezuka, who was locking up the clubhouse, and made their way to class.

"Shall we leave now, Toriumi-san?"

"Call me Toriumi-chan."

Inui nodded in acknowledgement and they both walked into the school towards their class as the first bell rang. Inui would have never thought that this would be the starting point of the problems to come.


	2. Chapter 2: UnExpected News

Hey! Thanks akari-hayashi for the review! :smiles: This chapter kind of took me awhile to type it out. Yep...Well on with the story! :grins:

Disclaimer: I dont own Prince of Tennis sadly...

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Chapter 2: UnExpected News

Third period was just ending and Inui was already outside of Toriumi's class. It wasn't that he ran there, it was just that her class was right next to his and since he was doing Fuji a favor, he might as well do it right. It was lunch time and he couldn't leave the poor girl alone. 'Maybe she made some new friends,' said a hopeful voice in his head. 'Don't get your hopes up. You might as well stick with her for a day, show her around. She'll tell you when she doesn't need you anymore,' replied that voice again. _Sigh _'And I was hoping to be able to eat lunch with Kaidoh in peace today. I'll guess I might as well eat with everybody else.'

"…ui-kun…?"

"Inui-kun!" Toriumi poked Inui on the arm hoping to get his attention.

"Ah! Gomen Toriumi-chan. I was just thinking," replied Inui.

She flashed him a smile that resembled Fuji's. "It's okay. Now that you're back to earth, would you mind showing me where the cafeteria is?"

"Ah. We can go and meet up with the others."

With that said, Inui and Toriumi walked towards the cafeteria ignoring all the looks of envy and jealousy they were receiving. Inui adjusted to the looks he was getting and just brushed it off. That's what he got for walking with the now prettiest girl in the school and by the looks of it, Toriumi was getting used to it. 'Thank kami-sama she's not like Atobe-san.' Inui let out a mental groan. 'Good thing I don't have to deal with someone like _that._'

When they got inside the cafeteria they went straight to the table where all the Seigaku regulars were eating.

Inui was surprised to see Kaidoh eating with the rest of the team. He usually ate alone and occasionally with Inui in the classroom. Maybe Inui would get his chance to talk to him about the new training after all.

"Nyah! There you are Toriumi-chan! We were worried about you. I thought you got lost," said an overly excited Eiji.

Toriumi just shook her head. "I was with Inui-kun."

"Oi, Inui! You're so mean! Keeping Toriumi-chan here all for yourself," Eiji pouted.

Inui sighed. He was getting a headache from all the thinking he was doing already. He didn't need Eiji to make it worse. Yet something came to mind to stop the little red head from bothering him.

"Eiji…I have a prototype of my new Inui juice in my locker right now. Want to be the first to try it?" Inui's glasses glinted in the light.

The minute Eiji heard that, he bolted and was behind Oishi. "Waaah…Oishiiiiii! Help! I don't want to drink those horrible drinks."

"It's good for the body."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

"Kikumaru, quiet down or I'll make you run laps. You too Inui," growled Tezuka. When Tezuka had actually joined them to eat lunch, no one knew. Inui just shrugged and went to sit in the empty seat next to Kaidoh while Eiji dragged Toriumi to sit in between him and Fuji, a distance away from Inui just in case he had some Inui juice with him.

"Toriumi-chan, how was your first day so far? Did you make any new friends yet? Do you like Seigaku so far? Wanna go play tennis after school?" Eiji just kept bombing question after question at Toriumi and all she did was say three things over and over again. Okay. Yes. No. After a while of talking to Toriumi, Eiji went back to talking about the subject they were on before Inui and Toriumi came which was tennis.

"Ne, Oishi, can we work on the other formations…"

**On the other side of the table**

"Kaidoh, you should flex out your leg more before you run or else you'll get cramps," said Inui.

"Hai."

"And we should have some practice matches today. 78 percent that you'll need a new training menu after we practice due to the huge improvements I've seen coming from you. After that if we have enough time we can go to the street courts and challenge some people to work on the new formations I've come up with," Inui said after doing some reading out of his notebook. Kaidoh had given up on trying to find what kind of data Inui had on him in his book. It seemed like he had enough data that he wrote in it less and less and spending more time actually training with Kaidoh instead of sitting there, scribbling in his notebook and occasionally giving out instructions or advice.

Times like these made Kaidoh think that Inui was really easy to get used to. It was nice to have company at lunch. Before Inui came along, Kaidoh always sat alone in the classroom, eating his lunch, and glaring at those who dared bother him. Sure, it was nice to know that people feared him. It made him feel like he had power over them but that's what kept him from making any friends. He didn't really mind not having any friends. He didn't need them until Inui came along. Inui gave Kaidoh what he was really craving for on the inside; a friend. Someone who would trust him and vice versa; someone who cared for him; someone who liked him for who he was, and that someone was Inui.

/Kaidoh's awfully quiet. Well, he's always quiet, but he's just more quiet today. I wonder if something is wrong?/

Just as Inui was going to ask Kaidoh if there was anything wrong, the lunch bell rang, indicating that the period was over and it was time for class. They got up, gathered their things, and were about to walk off to class together when Inui just remembered he was supposed to be helping Toriumi. She was in his class so he might as well walk with her instead of Kaidoh. So he bid farewell to Kaidoh and went over to where Toriumi was, who was just finishing up her conversation with Fuji.

"Ready Toriumi-chan?"

"Yeah." And they walked off together to class once again.

Under the Bridge that evening

Kaidoh was doing his usual jog around the park where he and Inui always trained. What was unusual was that Kaidoh was alone this time. Inui had called and said that he'd be late. Kaidoh decided to do some warm up laps before he got to start his practices. From 6:00-9:00, Kaidoh waited but Inui never showed up. Kaidoh figured he wasn't going to come after the first hour passed. He just continued with the self training he was doing already. By the time Kaidoh got home, he decided to call Inui to see if anything had happened. He usually wouldn't miss a training session and if he did he would have called earlier to let Kaidoh know he wouldn't be able to make it. Kaidoh dug through his bag for his cell and dialed the numbers to Inui's house.

"Moshi moshi, Inui Sadaharu speaking."

"Inui-sempai, its Kaidoh."

"Is there something you need? It's kind of late."

"I, er, wanted to know if you're okay. You didn't show up at the park today."

"Ah about that, gomen Kaidoh, I forgot. You see Toriumi called me earlier and asked me to help her with her Japanese History homework and since I was free for a while I decided to go and help her. When we were done she wanted to repay me by playing a match against me. I was only willing to comply. We got so into the game that I lost sense of time. I just came back from Toriumi's a couple minutes before you called," said Inui

"hisss…its okay sempai. I was just wondering if anything had happened to you that's all. Sorry for bothering you so late at night."

Inui raised an eyebrow. /Kaidoh was worried? Data…/ "No need to apologize Kaidoh, you're not bothering me at all."

Fast scribbling could be heard on other side. "Well I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight sempai." And Kaidoh hung up. He was only at Toriumi's house. It's nothing. He just missed one day. It doesn't matter. /It does or else you wouldn't feel that light pain in your chest, now would you?/ a voice said in Kaidoh's head.

"hissss…shut up," Kaidoh muttered and headed upstairs to start on **his** history homework.

The next week passed by normally. Toriumi was considered to be part of the regulars since Eiji kept dragging her to sit with them at lunch everyday. She was getting around the school alright which meant that Inui didn't have to spend that much time with her but he was hanging with her not with the excuse "I'm suppose to show her around" but with "We're friends". He spent more time with Toriumi than Kaidoh, which upset Kaidoh even though he said that he didn't mind but deep down inside, his hatred for her was slowly growing each time Inui ditched him for her. After a couple more days, Kaidoh went back to thinking he didn't need friends and that it was better to be alone. He went back to the way he was before Inui and he had become doubles partners in a matter of days.

Later that day Toriumi and Inui were in Kaidoh's class doing some kind of demonstration. Kaidoh just pretended that he was paying attention since he was actually a good student. Kaidoh drowned out the demo (just because Toriumi was the one giving it) and was thinking of tennis. After class it was lunch, Inui and Toriumi was outside of Kaidoh's class so they could walk to the lunch room together. At lunch Inui and Kaidoh were sitting together at the Regulars table talking about tennis…again while Eiji was bugging Toriumi about her day and tennis. Tennis was the main topic at first among the regulars but then it had turned to be others talking to each others about something not tennis related. Kaidoh and Inui's discussion had somehow gone to the talk of the demo he and Toriumi did in Kaidoh's class.

"So what did you think of the demo today Kaidoh?"

"Oh. I didn't really get it," Kaidoh answered truthfully.

"Well, we could go back to your house after practice and I could explain it to you again, and if we still have time we could go through some formations and I'll help you study for that English test you have tomorrow," said Inui. "And try to pay attention next time…yes, there will be a next time Kaidoh," added Inui in a wearily amused voice when he saw the look on Kaidoh's face.

Kaidoh gave a nod. "Okay," and went back to eating.

**Kaidoh Residence, Kaidoh's Room**

After what seemed like forever to Kaidoh, Inui was finally finished with explaining the demo again to Kaidoh.

"So…that's it. Do you get it now?"

"Yes," lied Kaidoh. Kaidoh couldn't or more like wouldn't admit that he didn't understand a single thing. He only said yes so that his sempai would shut up. Who thought that would have been so boring. It took Kaidoh everything he had not to fall asleep during the explanation.

After the long explanation, they went on talking about the new formations for their doubles pair. Inui stayed for dinner after lots of persuasion from Kaidoh's mom. When dinner was done, and all the dishes were clean Inui and Kaidoh headed back upstairs to Kaidoh's room to study for the English test Kaidoh had the next day.

The room was all silent for a while until Inui spoke up.

"Uh…Kaidoh?"

"Yes sempai?" said Kaidoh without looking up from his book. They were both sitting on the floor against the side of Kaidoh's bed. If Kaidoh **had** looked up he would have seen his sempai opening and closing his mouth a lot, deciding on what to say.

"You know the…Winter dance is…coming…right?" asked Inui uneasily.

"Uh huh. What about it?" Kaidoh answered automatically. He was getting irritated by Inui who was obviously stalling to the point of what he really wanted to talk about.

"Umm…I…uh…wanted to ask…erm…someone to the dance. Do you think they'll say yes?"

Kaidoh was getting really irritated. He let out a big sigh. "Inui-sempai, get to the point," said Kaidoh who was at the point of blowing up. Inui **said **he would help Kaidoh study for his English test which he would be having **tomorrow** and here he was, blabbing away about something Kaidoh didn't want to pay attention to now.

Now it was Inui's turn to let out a sigh.

"I Like Toriumi."

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Uhh...how was that? it was bad right? :runs and hides: Is it too much to ask for at least 5 reviews? The next chaper will be up soon i hope! :smiles: 


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting an Old Friend

Thanks so much for the reviews. :smiles: Heh...didnt want to let you guys wait for a long time so i finished this chapter early and decided to post it since I'm going to be busy for a while and prbably not be able to update so yea...on with the story!

**Disclamer:** wish i did own it though...

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**Chapter 3: Meeting an old Friend**

Kaidoh was nearly done picking up the glass shards from the cup he had dropped a while ago when he got cut from a really sharp piece. Kaidoh stayed knelt for a while staring at the cut before he decided to go clean up. He was careful not to let Inui see the cut. He didn't need anyone to fuss over him about a cut. Kaidoh Kaoru didn't need anyone, not anymore anyway.

"I'm going to throw these away," said Kaidoh particularly to no one since Inui was spaced off somewhere.

Probably thinking of Toriumi.

As Kaidoh closed the door he could hear Inui say something but decided to ignore it. He really didn't care what his sempai was going to say now anyway. After he closed the door, he rested his head against the closed door for a while before remembering that he had a handful full of broken shards and to add to that, his hand was bleeding. He headed across the hallway to the bathroom. Once the door was closed and locked, Kaidoh threw away the pieces of glass and went to clean his hand at the sink. After a while, the water had turned into a shade of red which was from all of the blood that was coming from Kaidoh's hand. After what seemed like forever the blood seemed to stop flowing out so Kaidoh wrapped it up. When Kaidoh was done wrapping the injury he stared at it for a while and was about to go back to his room when he saw that the bandage that was at his cut was turning red really fast. Kaidoh let out a hiss and unwrapped it to wash the wound again. Kaidoh soon figured out that the cut was really deep. He was wondering how the shard could've cut so deep yet there was no pain.

/You're feeling too much pain somewhere else to even feel the pain in your hand,/ a voice in his head chided Kaidoh. He let out another hiss and thought about the turn of event that had just happened so fast.

Flashback

"_I like Toriumi."_

_A loud smashing sound could be heard over the television downstairs in the living room. Kaidoh was just staring at the glass that was on the floor all shattered. The glass seemed so interesting and somehow Kaidoh wondered if this is what his heart looked like now._

_Since the room was so silent, both could hear the running of footsteps up the stairs, stopping at his door, and knocking._

"_Aniki are you…?"_

"_It's nothing, I just lost my grip."_

"_Oh…okay." Then his little brother closed the door and walked back downstairs. "It's okay! He was just clumsy again." Inui heard after Kaidoh's little brother closed the door. Inui knew that Kaidoh wasn't being clumsy. He knew it was something he had said to cause Kaidoh to lose his grip. Inui was getting worried. Kaidoh hadn't said a word since Inui told him about his crush. He's just shocked. Just let him recover,said a voice in Inui's head. Inui nodded. It was logical that Kaidoh would be shocked; in fact it would have been surprising if Kaidoh wasn't. Inui was so in deep thought that he didn't notice Kaidoh get up until he heard the door closed. _

"_Ah. Wait-"was all Inui could say before the door closed shut._

End of Flashback

Kaidoh was leaning against the bathroom door, convincing himself that it didn't matter who Inui liked. It was none of his business. It wasn't like Kaidoh was in love with his sempai anyway. He just thought that Inui was a friend, someone to train with, a doubles partner and that was all he was to Kaidoh; nothing more. Kaidoh repeated it again and again till he was actually convinced that it was true. It seemed to make him feel better so he left the bathroom and went back into his room again. On his way back he remembered that he had spilled his tea so he went to get a new cup and faintly remembered that Inui had finished his long ago so he was going to get him a new one too.

In the Kitchen

Kaidoh was sitting around the dinning table waiting for the tea to be ready. He thought about his English test. Studying mentally and trying to review what he had just looked through in his book help kept him in control over his emotions. It kept his mind off of Inui and what he had just said. Forgetting about the tea that he had just made, Kaidoh went past his family in the living room muttering to himself. His family just exchanged glances. They thought Kaidoh was studying too much and it was starting to get to him but they just ignored it and went back to watching the television.

Kaidoh planned to ignore the fact that Inui just told him that he liked Toriumi, which really irked him. His jealously meter was about to burst if he had to listen to Inui say something about Toriumi when he went back to his room. Kaidoh ignored that he was extremely jealous of Toriumi and instead tried to forget that he and Inui had just had that conversation and went back to studying mentally in his head again. It was working really well. Kaidoh calm downed by a lot and was even able to smile.

All that went down the drain the minute Kaidoh walked into his room to find Inui talking to Toriumi on his cell. Had it not been for Kaidoh's little brother reminding him of the tea he forgot he would have lost all control and burst right then and there. Kaidoh was going to go back downstairs to retrieve the tea and try to work on his self control a little more.

"I'll be right back with the tea sempai," muttered Kaidoh.

"Ah, wait Kaidoh, there's no need," said Inui as he was getting off his phone. "It's getting late and I should be going."

"Okay. I'll walk you out."

Inui bid goodbye and thanked Kaidoh's family then left. Kaidoh had never felt so relieved that his sempai had finally left. He trudged upstairs, closed the door to his room and pushed away his books since he knew he wasn't going to get any studying done at this rate. He just simply fell on to his bed and starred at the ceiling for what seemed like forever until he fell asleep.

The next day Kaidoh went to school only to hear about the dance that was coming up everywhere. He was about to explode and tell everyone to shut up about the dance until the teacher came in and settled down the class. Kaidoh's self control was really wavering these days. Another thing that went around was that Inui was now dating Toriumi. Kaidoh figured that he must have confessed to her today.

Kaidoh nearly exploded over a hundred times today and when he didn't think the day could get any worse, it did. He got irritated every time he saw Inui and Toriumi walking around holding hands and giggling. It wasn't like he followed them everywhere; no, Kaidoh wasn't the kind of guy to do that but everywhere he went, Inui and Toriumi were the ones that would magically appear. Even when he went to the secluded part of the school campus -which was behind the school with a big lake and very nice scenery- he ended up seeing Inui and Toriumi again. The one place that Kaidoh went to get peace and quiet and he ended up seeing the two people he didn't want to see at the moment. Kaidoh spent the rest of his break inside his classroom occasionally talking to Arai about tennis club practice or just tennis.

Kaidoh had amazingly passed his English test and was in a better mood when he went to practice. He did get into a couple of fights with Momoshiro and had to run laps for it but besides that, everything went alright.

On his way home Kaidoh was in deep thought again. He was hardly noticing where he was walking until he bumped into someone and fell back.

"Ah. Gomen, I wasn't paying attention," said the stranger and lend a hand to help Kaidoh up. Kaidoh politely accepted the hand, got up and brushed the dirt of his closed before he actually looked up to see who he had walked into but when he did his eyes went wide and he couldn't believe who it was.

"Sojiroh? Sojiroh Kei?"

"It really is you, Kaoru? Oh wow. I didn't think I would find you already," exclaimed Kei.

"When did you get back? How come you didn't tell me? How long are you staying?"

"Well I just got back last night and I was about to call you after I unpacked but I was really tired. You wouldn't believe how much stuff we have. I spent hours just on my stuff and I didn't even think I had that much stuff," said Kei. The guy was practically shining with joy.

"Unpacked…?" Kaidoh was confused. People usually don't have that much stuff when they visit or even on vacations. He made it sound like they had moved- /Wait- he didn't answer how long they were going to stay…does this mean…/

Sojiroh started laughing at the expression that was on Kaidoh's face.

"So you finally figured it out huh?" Sojiroh said while trying to catch his breathe from laughing so much. All Kaidoh could do was stare at his best friend as he stood there laughing. Kaidoh couldn't help but smile at his friend. It's been a long time since they've seen each other. Almost 4 years now. Kaidoh could remember clearly the day when Kei had to move away. It broke Kaidoh's heart. They were closer than brothers. They grew up together, went to school together, played tennis together, and even lived next to each other. They were inseparable, that is until Sojiroh's father got a job transfer and everyone had to move with him.

Flashback

_Two boys, around the age of 8 could be seen sitting next to each other on the swings at the park near sunset. Sojiroh was going to leave soon and he and Kaidoh were saying their goodbyes. Kaidoh, using all of his self control, tried not to cry because boys didn't cry. Sojiroh on the other hand had always worn his emotions on his sleeve. He was sitting there and tears could be seen rolling down his cheek and he tried to keep them in but in the end, he had just given up and let it all out. They were just sitting there, enjoying the last moment they had with their best friend before they would part and not see each other for God knew how long. There was a long drawn out silence due to the fact that neither wanted to say their goodbyes. It was all silent until Sojiroh's sister came and told him that they were leaving. They got up from their swings and trudged back to their house when Sojiroh just stopped walking._

"_Kei…?"_

"_Promise me you won't forget me," said Kei as he stuck his pinky out._

"_If you promise to visit," said Kaidoh in returned and reached out to link their pinkies together._

Kei nodded. "Pinky swear." He gave a smile and they both walked back to their houses.

End of Flashback

It was silent around them as the two old friends reunited again and remembering about the promise made long ago. So deep in thought, neither had noticed that they had walked to the park they once knew so well when they were little yet they were still silent as they sat down on the bench since the swings had gotten small for them. After a while, Sojiroh was the first to break the silence.

"So…how have you been? Are you still playing tennis?" Sojiroh asked as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. When had it been this hard to talk to Kaoru?he asked himself.

"It's going okay but lately its getting harder and harder to keep myself in control," said Kaidoh looking down, remembering how lousy this week had been.

"Kaoru…you know you can tell me anything right?" Sojiroh sensed that there was something that must really be bothering his friend.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, its nothing," said Kaidoh still looking down. Sojiroh knew it wasn't just nothing or else it wouldn't have affected his friend like this, this much. He let out a silent sigh. He knew it was a matter of time before Kaidoh would crack and tell him everything but for now he wouldn't push it but instead switched to a different topic.

"You busy now? Want to play some tennis before dinner?" At the sound of tennis Kaidoh lifted his head and was smiling. Tennis had that kind of effect of these guys.

"Sure."

2 hours later

As the sun set, two figures could be seen, lying flat on the floor, exhausted from the exciting game they had just played. Neither could move and just stayed there for a while staring up at the sky until Kaidoh remembered that he had some homework he had yet to finish so he really did need to get home. There was still the training he had after dinner too. Kaidoh thought for a while. He wasn't really expecting Inui to show up now that he had a girlfriend even just when Toriumi showed up he stopped coming less and less to the training sessions so Kaidoh had accepted it and trained alone. Now that Sojiroh was back, Kaidoh figured it would be nice to have a partner to train with and they could do some more catching up too.

"Kei."

"Hmm?"

"After dinner I usually go training by the bridge. Want to join me?"

"Sure!"

After that, they laid there for another minute or so until one of them actually got up and had to walk to the other side to pull the other to get up. They went back home and went their separate ways after Kaidoh had explained to Sojiroh how to get to the park near the bridge.

Kaidoh was practically glowing (well as much as he would show on the outside anyways) by the time he came home. He told his family of his old friend coming back and they were so thrilled that they were going to call Sojiroh's parents so that they could come over for dinner sometime this week. Kaidoh was really glad that he and Sojiroh were going to meet at the park later that he finished all his homework faster than usual, ate his dinner super fast and raced back upstairs and got his tennis bag and left the house.

Sojiroh arrived the same time Kaidoh did and it seemed that he couldn't wait either. They ended up laughing at each other for being so silly. That evening, training went by really fast no matter how much they didn't want it to. They did the usual training that Kaidoh did and he made a mental note to talk to Inui about making a menu for Sojiroh too. They talked about school, tennis, family, friends, tennis, things that had been going around, and more tennis. Kaidoh talked about Seigaku, and their tennis team since Sojiroh was going to attend that school starting tomorrow. Kaidoh explained to him about everyone on the team and didn't even feel any anger or jealously although did feel a slight pain in his chest when he started talking about Inui and Toriumi even though he talked less about them that the others. He had said only a couple words about them and warned Sojiroh about the dreaded Inui juice. Sojiroh had suspected that something was up because Kaidoh had said that he and Inui were doubles partners yet he knew him the less out of everyone. He would have to look into it.

Soon it was getting too dark to see so they packed up their things and headed home again for the second time that day.

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Well...? how was it?Dont forget to review!:smiles: Oh yeah! the next chapter might be up next week...hopefully... 


	4. Chapter 4: Acceptance

Sorry for the late update. Finals!. Thanks for all the reviews! I feel so loved! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 4: Acceptance**

"Nyah, Kaidoh who's your new friend?" Eiji was overexcited again during morning practice when Kaidoh walked in with a new guy. Kaidoh knew this was coming so they had decided to go to the tennis courts last after getting Sojiroh's books and giving him a quick tour of the school. After the quick tour, he and Sojiroh went to Ryuzaki-sensei to approve of him being in the club, got his uniform and headed towards the clubhouse to change for his first day of practice at Seigaku where he found the hyper Eiji talking to him.

Before Sojiroh could answer any of the questions, Ryuzaki-sensei called them over for some announcements.

After a few minutes of briefing, Ryuzaki-sensei went to the subject of the new member.

"And also welcome the new club member, Sojiroh Kei," said Ryuzaki-sensei.

Everybody clapped and said words of welcome as Sojiroh advanced forward, took a bow, and went back to his place next to Kaidoh. After everyone quieted down, Tezuka gave out instructions for practice that day and everyone went on their way to practice except for the regulars and Sojiroh, who was held back.

"Since Sojiroh-san here is new, I'm sure everyone would like to see his ability and style of play. So who is going to volunteer to play him?"

Kaidoh and Sojiroh exchanged glances and each had a grin on their face.

"Umm…sensei? I heard Seigaku has lots of players for singles but lack doubles so I was wondering if I could play a doubles match. Against the golden pair if I can," added Sojiroh in a confident tone.

Ryuzaki-sensei was surprised but agreed to his proposal because one, Eiji was whining that it was a good idea, two, Tezuka seemed to agree to it, and three, if he was good at doubles who was she to stop him?

"And I'm guessing that Kaidoh would be your partner right?"

Kaidoh and Sojiroh exchanged glances again then Sojiroh turned back to Ryuzaki-sensei, nodded his head with a big smile.

Ryuzaki-sensei gave the word okay and the two pair went off to do a little warm up before the match.

Inui stopped scribbling in his notebook. Inui was confused. Why had Kaidoh decided to play doubles with this new guy (65 percent they could have been childhood friends) so suddenly without so much as an argument. When he had first asked Kaidoh play doubles with him, it had taken a great deal of time to convince him. Kaidoh had refused 72 percent of the time and when he had finally given in, it was because of the high annoyance level and that their partnership in doubles was to help Kaidoh improve on the boomerang snake. Inui envied Sojiroh right at that moment. It had always been the Inui and Kaidoh pair. Everything was going to change now that the new guy was here.

/Stop being stupid. You have a girlfriend now. You shouldn't be thinking this. Any of this./ Inui shook his head and got rid of all thoughts he just had and focused all his attention on the pair that was now playing; pen and notebook ready to gather data on the new guy.

**On the Court**

Kaidoh and Sojiroh were whispering something on the court that was no doubt a strategy to beat the Golden Pair. It seemed like they were satisfied with whatever they had come up with because each went to their position and got ready. Sojiroh started out with a normal serve which ended up getting returned by Eiji with his acrobatics. Point. Love-15.

The rest of the game went the same. Sojiroh served, Eiji returned it, Kaidoh hit towards the back court and Oishi ended it with the Moon Volley. The first game was won by Eiji/Oishi pair 1-0. The next game was somewhat a repeat of the first one.This seemed like such a one-sided game that some started to pity the Kaidoh and Sojiroh pair.

"Game Kikumaru/Oishi pair 2-0. Change courts."

"Nyah Oishi, this isn't as much fun as I thought it would be. They're not putting up much of a fight."

"Eiji!"

"Hoi, let's hurry up and end this. I want to play O-chibi again."

Oishi could only sigh as he followed his partner to the other side of the court.

"Ne, Kei, are you done playing yet?" Kaidoh was getting really annoyed. It was always like this when he played doubles with Sojiroh. He would start playing with the other team and once he had had enough (or got his head bitten of by Kaidoh), he would start playing seriously.

"Gomen, gomen, old habits die hard," chuckled Sojiroh. "Come on! The real game starts now. We'll show them our amazing coordination!" Kaidoh let out a sigh. Sometimes his friend was just too much but he couldn't help it when a smile formed. It felt good to finally play together again. He was going to give it his all.

From then on, they were playing like they were completely different people. Their coordination and timing was perfect and they were even able to do the Australian formation and I formation. Everyone was awed by how well they were playing. After a while, they caught up and were even winning. 3-2 Sojiroh Kaidoh lead. Oishi and Eiji were so shocked by their sudden change in play that they played seriously and for every game that Kaidoh and Sojiroh took, they took one back too. The match was full of tension and it seemed as if neither pair would refuse to give up even one point. Everyone stopped practicing and just stood there watching the heated up between the Golden Pair and the Kaidoh/Sojiroh pair.

Towards the end, both pairs were tired. It wasn't about techniques anymore. It was who had the stronger will to win. Even though it was just a practice match, neither was willing to give up. The match ended with Oishi hitting a Moon volley and Sojiroh missed returning the shot because he was out of energy and he stumbled over his feet; losing the point and match to the Golden pair at 32-34.

"Game. Set. Match. Oishi/Kikumaru pair. 7-6."

Cheering could be heard throughout the court. Everyone was awed at how the two pairs had played. After the two had shaken hands, halfway off the court they were surrounded by the club members complimenting their game.

"That was amazing."

"Where did you learn to play like that Sojiroh-san?"

"You two are just like the golden pair."

"Return to your practices or 20 laps," said Tezuka in a voice that carried. He didn't even have to yell to be heard. Everyone did as they were told and since Sojiroh wasn't part of the regulars, he went along with the crowd and practiced a little after the break that Kaidoh, the Golden Pair, and Sojiroh received after playing such a long drawn out game.

The rest of practice only lasted another 20 minutes and was full of loud noisy people. It looked and sounded more like a circus than tennis practice. Eiji was bouncing around and conversing loudly with Oishi about how much fun the game was while Oishi tried to calm his partner down. Kaidoh and Momoshiro got into another fight because of yet another misunderstanding. Kaidoh got hit by a tennis ball and the ball seemed to have come from Momoshiro's direction so he assumed it was him. Inui was the one who had to calm down the two after threatening to make them into test subjects for his latest Inui juice.

Sojiroh seemed to gather lots of attention. Everyone wanted to play against him after his spectacular performance. Fuji seemed to be wrecking havoc (and causing a major headache) on poor Tezuka-Buchou, earning him 20 laps around the court. Kawamura was in his burning mode, playing a match against their Ochibi, who was currently winning (and the only two that were actually practicing).

The ruckus on the courts, not to mention the already major headache he had from Fuji's sadistic side, was just pushing the limits of Tezuka's patience. He was about to make everyone run 100 laps when Ryuzaki-sensei returned and told them that they were dismissed. He made a mental note to remember that they all would run extra laps the next practice.

"Hey, Echizen, want to go get hamburgers?"

"Sure," said Ryoma in a dead voice.

"Eiji-sempai, want to come too?" Momo was hoping that his sempai would agree. Then he wouldn't have to pay for the brat again.

"Huh? No, it's okay. Me and Oishi are going for ice-cream today," said Eiji with a big grin.

"Eh? But Eiji I have-"

"Nyah Oishi! You promised!" Eiji pouted and pretended to be hurt by what Oishi had said.

Oishi let out a sigh. He could never deny Eiji anything when he looked so vulnerable like that. Would he ever be able to deny his partner anything?

Oishi gave a small smile, "Okay."

"Yay! Let's go!" Eiji grabbed his and Oishi's bags and practically ran out the door dragging poor Oishi, who was trying to finish buttoning up his shirt and trying to bid his teammates goodbye.

Once they were out the door and a good distance away, Oishi spoke up.

"Eiji, I'm sorry, but I have to run some errands for my mom today. Can we go get ice-cream tomorrow?" Oishi was half hoping that his eccentric doubles partner wasn't going to scream out loud again from his refusal.

"Nyah its okay Oishi," said Eiji with a small smile. He looked a bit disappointed but still let out a smile. That was just too much for Oishi.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," said Eiji as he was about to turn. Oishi suddenly felt guilty. He let out a sigh. Duties were going to have to wait.

"Eiji!"

"Eh? What is it Oishi?" Eiji seemed kind of confused.

"I changed my mind. Want to get some ice-cream now?"

Eiji's face suddenly lit up. At that moment, he looked like a little kid who just got what he wanted on Christmas. That was one of the many faces Oishi came to cherish deep in his heart.

"But what about your errands…?"

"They can wait," replied Oishi.

"Okay!" Eiji immediately clung onto Oishi's arm and was half running in the direction of the ice-cream parlor.

**Later that night…**

Oishi was sitting at his desk trying to do his history homework. He seemed to be having a hard time concentrating since he kept glancing at the phone every 10 seconds. It was those girls who had reminded him of it.

/Should I call him?/ The same question kept bothering Oishi since he got back from his outing with Eiji. /Should I call him?/ The question repeated in his head.

/Grr…decide will you? I'm trying to concentrate and you keep repeating the same thing over and over again/ another part of his brain was starting to talk now.

/Well, I can't decide! And if I did I wouldn't be here repeating it over and over again now would I?/

/Well, just call or don't call! How hard is it to pick up a phone to call him? I'm sure he'll say yes!/ The voices in Oishi's head were starting to confuse him and hurt his head.

/W-wait! What if he says no? What if he laughs? He probably wouldn't want to go anyway./ this voice seemed to be panicking now.

/You should know him best. I'm sure he will say yes so go call him! I'm never going to get my studying done at this rate./ Mr. Grumpy had won so Oishi reached for his phone and punched in the numbers he knew by heart.

As the phone was ringing, Mr. Anxious was talking again. /W-wait! What if he already has a date? Maybe that's why we never talked about it./

/Just shut up and listen. And don't interrupt got it?/

/Hai…/

"_Moshi Moshi Eiji speaking."_

"Uhhh…Eiji, I have s-something I want to t-talk about," Oishi said nervously.

"_What is it Oishi? Is there something wrong?"_ Even though Eiji wasn't the worry-about-everything type, he could still care about his friends; especially Oishi.

"Uhh…you know the dance this w-weekend r-right?" Oishi was stuttering again.

"_Uh huh."_

"Uhh..a-are you going w-with anyone?"

"_Nope." _

Oishi let out a silent sigh of relief. /Ha! I was right!/

/Shhh. You said not to interrupt!/

Oishi took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Eijiwillyougotothedancewithme?"

"_Huh? Oishi could you say that again slowly?. I didn't understand you,"_ said Eiji, sounding confused.

"I said 'do you want to go to the dance with me?'"

There was a moment of silence on the phone. Eiji was speechless by what Oishi had just said and Oishi was hoping that he wasn't going to get rejected.

A sound could be heard on the other line; Eiji's side.

"_Sorry Oishi, nee-san is calling me. It seems like she's in trouble. I'll talk to you tomorrow ja,"_ and Eiji hung up.

"Bye…," Oishi said into the receiver.

/See…I told you this would happen. This was why I was weighing the pro and cons before I called him./ And the voices were back.

/There is still time. The dance isn't till Saturday and it's **only** Wednesday./

/Yeah, it's **only** Wednesday,/ snorted Mr. anxious voice.

/Shut up! I'm trying to be sensible right now. **You're** supposed to be encouraging him! Not putting him down!/ Defended Mr. Grumpy voice.

/You're only saying those things because you know there is **no** hope in you getting your peace and quiet for you to study now after he called./

/Nuh uh!/

/Uh huh!/

/Nuh uh!/

/Uh huh!/

/**NUH UH**!/

/**UH HUH**!/

/Well, I wouldn't have told him to call him if you hadn't been talking **so** loud!/

/We don't **talk** genius! We **think**!/

/If you have been thinking in your head then all of this wouldn't happen!/ Mr. Grumpy voice was getting _really_ grumpy now.

/I was **thinking** in my head! **WE** are the ones that are suppose to be thinking for him-/

/Obviously you're not doing it right!/

/**WHAT**?!/

All of a sudden Oishi threw a punch to the wall. He seemed to be very angry and from the looks of it, his head was hurting too. It was a good thing his parents weren't home or else they would be worried.

/I think we should shut up now/ piped out Mr. Anxious voice.

/Best idea you had today./

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**Tezuka Residence **

"Tezuka?"

"Hm?"

"Want to go to the dance with me?"

"No." This was the 20th time Fuji had asked and it was the 20th time he answered no. It had all started when Tezuka had agreed to let Fuji come over so they could "study" as Fuji suggested. It turned out Fuji had already known everything in the history book so the most reasonable answer was that it was just an excuse to come over to Tezuka's house.

5 minutes later, Fuji was seated on the floor against the side of Tezuka's bed and Tezuka was sitting at his desk with his back towards Fuji. Soon they started to study, well, after **Tezuka** had started to study, Fuji started with the questions, all ending in a no.

"Why not?" This time Fuji wasn't giving up that easily.

"I don't dance." Short. Precise. Got to the point. So like Tezuka.

"I can teach you," answered Fuji in a sweet voice.

"No thanks." Tezuka was just as stubborn as ever.

Just then an idea hit Fuji. "Hmm…I wonder if Kojiroh would want to go with me then."

At the sound of Saeki's name, Tezuka tensed up. It wasn't that Tezuka didn't like Saeki, it was just that he got too close to Fuji- **his** Fuji and he didn't like that. Okay, maybe he didn't like Saeki but Fuji didn't need to know that. Unfortunately for him, Fuji already knew.

Tezuka shifted uncomfortably in his chair which didn't go unnoticed by Seigaku's tensai. Fuji's smile shifted into a mischievous one and was about to speak up when Tezuka beat him to it.

"Why Saeki?" Fuji noticed the venom in Saeki's name when Tezuka said it.

"Because I love him," said Fuji innocently. Tezuka immediately tensed up even more. Fuji knew exactly what to say to get to his captain.

Tezuka only grunted in response and that was enough to make Fuji smile even more.

The next hour or so, Tezuka was colder than usual, refused any contact with Fuji, and refused to even look at Fuji the whole time. Fuji was getting impatient. He figured he went too far this time. When Fuji would try to start a conversation, Tezuka would say one or two words in a tone that would say "this conversation is over" thus crossing out anything that involved talking. Next, Fuji asked to borrow his notes and Tezuka just threw it over his shoulder without even looking back, making it land right next to Fuji. By 8:30, Fuji got tired of Tezuka's cold attitude and decided to break the ice. Seriously. He got up and silently walked over to where Tezuka was and slide into his lap with a serious look on his face.

"Why are you mad?"

Tezuka covered up his shock and quickly looked anywhere but Fuji's face. "I'm not mad."

"Yes, you are! You're avoiding me."

"I am not avoiding you."

"Then why won't you look at me?" Fuji said with a hint of pleading.

Tezuka was speechless. True, he was trying to avoid looking at Fuji but it was hard to look at him after what he had said about Saeki. He didn't want to show the pain in his eyes. Fuji could see through him no matter how hard he tried to hide it but this was one thing he wasn't going to let Fuji figure out.

Fuji was staring intently at Tezuka for awhile now and he had a feeling that his suspicions were right. Tezuka was jealous. Just then Fuji's sadistic side returned to him. He had on a mischievous grin and tilted his head to the side to meet Tezuka's eyes.

"Ne, Mitsu, are you jealous?" So much for being serious.

"No."

Fuji's grin fell and turned into disappointment and his head bow down. "Then you're not jealous?" Fuji muttered softly, but loud enough for Tezuka to hear.

Tezuka fell in shock at Fuji's reaction. Before he could help it, a light shade of pink crept up his cheeks but it didn't go unnoticed by Fuji. Suddenly, Fuji's head lifted up and his face broke out in a grin.

"Oh, Mitsu! I didn't know you cared!" Fuji said as he threw his arms around Tezuka's neck. Once again the tensai rendered him shocked and speechless but Tezuka couldn't help but wrap his arms around Fuji's little frame and hold him there forever. Where he belonged.

"Tezuka…?" Fuji said on Tezuka's shoulder.

"Hmm…?" He and Fuji were still in the tight embrace and neither showed any signs of letting go.

"Want to go to the dance with me?" That question again.

"Sure." Fuji's grin got wider, if it was possible. Tezuka pulled back from Fuji just a little bit and leaned in and captured the lips he wanted to taste for so long to seal the deal.

**At the bridge **

Kaidoh and Sojiroh were getting ready to pack up since they were finished for the day. Although they were getting ready to pack up, it didn't mean that they were actually up yet. They wouldn't, no, **couldn't** get up. They were just too dead tired from all the hard training they did. After all the normal training, they did extra running and went to the street courts to play tennis. After that, they came back to cool off with another run. Now they were just lying on the grass staring up at the stars.

"Kaoru…?"

"Hmm…?"

"When's the dance?"

"It's this Saturday night. Why?" Kaidoh was curious that his friend knew about the dance already. He'd only been in school for a day too.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that you know Seichii Chitari that girl in our homeroom?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Well Seichii-chan asked me to go to the dance with her and she's not the only one. A ton of other girls were crowding me in History class. They were all the same."

"Well, if you want to go to the dance with her then go." Kaidoh really didn't like talking about the dance. It brought back memories that were best left forgotten. It hurt now that he thought about it.

"Are you going…?" Sojiroh was wondering. Even though he was new and lots of people wanted to go to the dance with him, it still didn't feel right that his best friend would be at home when he was out probably having a good time.

"No…it would be…just….too much if I went…" Kaidoh looked hurt as he said that.

"Is it because of Inui-sempai?" Sojiroh asked innocently.

Kaidoh turned and faced his best friend. "How'd you know?"

"I guess. Actually, it really isn't all that obvious if you don't observe things as carefully as I do. You tend to avoid him. When he talks to you, you don't look at him. Instead, you look anywhere else but at him; you try to be as far away from him as possible.

"Is it really that obvious?" Kaidoh asked to no one in particular.

"Come on. Are you going to tell me or do I have to pry it from you? At the risk of sounding cliché, we could do this the easy way or the hard way. You pick."

"Kei…" Kaidoh said in a deadly cold voice.

"Don't 'Kei…' me! How am I supposed to help you if I don't know the problem is?" Sojiroh was determined to find out what was bothering Kaidoh. It was simple enough. He usually lets it out without knowing it.

Kaidoh let out a sigh and return his gaze to the stars. "There's no problem so you don't have to worry."

"Is it because of Inui-sempai's girlfriend? Toriumi-chan…?"

"It's not fair…" Kaidoh muttered softly but didn't go unheard by Sojiroh.

"How about you go with me to the dance? It would be no fun without you anyway," Sojiroh suggested.

"If I go, I would only be ruining your time with your date. Nah, I'll stay home. I might do some extra training or go play more tennis. I don't know, but I'll find something to do. You don't have to worry about me." Kaidoh just looked like a helpless soul just crying for comfort.

Sojiroh turned to face Kaidoh and smirked. "You wanted to go with Inui-sempai, huh?"

It was amazing how prompt Kaidoh had started blushing so furiously. "I d-do not."

Sojiroh couldn't hold in the laughter anymore. "Yeah, right, I can really tell by how red your face is."

That remark earned him a death glare from Kaidoh but it could hardly be taken serious considering Kaidoh's face was still tomato red.

"This is more than just a crush, huh?" Sojiroh changed his own expression quickly as well. He went from being a laughing immature kid to a dead serious guy.

"You wouldn't understand how much it hurts…" said Kaidoh quietly.

"I won't know unless you tell me right?" /There's little chance that I wouldn't understand the pain considering that I went through enough/

Kaidoh looked him dead in the eye. It seemed like he was serious so Kaidoh started to tell the story of how it all started. He told him about all the times he and Inui were alone, when it was just them and what he felt. He told him how he felt when he lost Inui, how much it hurt, the pain he had to go through everyday seeing him with another girl, spending all his time with her and not him. It really hurt Kaidoh. Sojiroh could see it.

All the pain had made Kaidoh soft, not that anyone could see it. Kaidoh hid it very well but for Sojiroh, Kaidoh was the easiest thing to figure out. Somewhere in the middle, Kaidoh sat up and continued talking. When he was done, Sojiroh had also gotten up and he had an arm around Kaidoh's waist, pulling him close to him for comfort. Kaidoh was leaning his head on Sojiroh's shoulder as he continued explaining about all the pain. The hand around Kaidoh's wait tightened when Sojiroh felt that Kaidoh needed reassurance and comfort. They sat there in silence; a silent understanding of each other. It was soundless until Kaidoh's cell started ringing.

"Moshi Moshi"

"_Hello? Kaidoh…?"_

"Hai…"

_"It's me, Inui. I was just wondering where you were since I called your house and your parents said that you were still out,"_ said Inui.

"Who is it?" asked Sojiroh.

"_Hmmm…? Is that Sojiroh with you?"_ Inui's voice sounded surprised.

"Ah, hai sempai."

"_Oh…"_

SILENCE…

"Was there something you needed, sempai?" ask Kaidoh. He was in a hurry to get off the phone. It still hurt just talking on the phone with him.

"_Ah, well it wasn't that important. I'll see you tomorrow then. Ja_." Then Inui hung up.

"What did he want?" ask Sojiroh.

"Nothing…" said Kaidoh softly as he was still staring at the phone.

"So…Kaoru? How about going to the dance with me?" said Sojiroh with a playful grin on his face.

Kaidoh nodded. "Sure." /If Kei could get rid of the pain then I'm willing to do anything./

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Review please. Oh yeah how should i pair Kawamura with? and ideas? The next chapter will be up soon! 


	5. Chapter 5: Realization

**SOrry for the late update! My computer kinda died on me so yeah. Thanksfor all of the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter 5: REALiZATiON**

**Inui's Residence – 9:20pm**

15 minutes and 32 seconds had passed since Inui had called Kaidoh. He was the one who had hung up first so why was he still staring at the phone in his hand? Inui hadn't moved an inch since he heard Sojiroh's voice on the other end. Kaidoh's end. Why was this bothering him so much? Sojiroh was just another friend Kaidoh had.

/You're just jealous that Kaidoh now has someone else to spend his time with instead of you./

Inui tried to reason with himself. He was NOT getting jealous over Kaidoh's friend. He had a girlfriend. He had a girlfriend. Inui kept repeating it to himself. When he was finally convinced that he wasn't jealous of Kaidoh's friend, he consoled himself by updating the data he had gathered and worked on a new Inui juice.

**Oishi's Residence – 10:35pm**

Oishi had been tossing and turning in bed for the past hour. After the call to Eiji, he couldn't go back to studying. /Ha! I was right/

/Shut up. Don't make him mad again/

…and the stupid voices in his head wouldn't stop talking. Sure they had been quieter since he had lost his patience but they kept popping in and out of his head every now and then. It also didn't help that Eiji's face kept popping into his head. He was really anxious for Eiji's answer. Oishi let out a sigh. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

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**The next day…**

Oishi and Eiji were walking to school in silence (which was unusual) until they reached the school gates when a group of girls, who seemed to be waiting for them, walked up and crowed Eiji and Oishi.

"Kikumaru-kun! Oishi-kun!"

"Hoi-"

"Kikumaru-kun, are you going to the dance?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Are you going with anyone?"

"Yes, and-"

"Will you go with me?"

"But-"

"No, with me."

Eiji was practically overwhelmed with all the screaming and tugging and was getting irritated that they weren't letting him talk.

Over at Oishi's crowd…

Oishi was having a hard time saying no to the girls. They were practically begging him but he knew he had to say no, so he let it out softly.

"I'm sorry, but there's someone else I asked already. Gomen," said Oishi with a slight bow. The girls were pretty sad but soon enough they left Oishi alone. After all the girls had left, Oishi walked next to Eiji to drag him off to practice before they had to run laps for being late. When he finally squeezed through there was complete silence and Oishi caught the last couple words of what Eiji was saying.

"-but I'm going with Oishi. Gomen!"

Oishi was speechless. When had they agreed to go to the dance together? A few minutes later the only people left standing were Oishi and Eiji.

"Eiji, when did you say you were?"

"Nyah Oishi! Are you going back on your word now? I thought you wanted to go with me," whined Eiji.

"B-but you didn't say anything about-"

"Does it matter? Okay, fine. Hoi! I'll go with you Oishi."

Oishi just nodded. Eiji was just hard to understand sometimes.

"Okay now that I agreed to what you wanted, you have to agree on what I want," declared Eiji.

"W-what?"

"Nyah! I want ice-cream after school today! Oishi's treat okay?" Eiji pouted.

Oishi smiled warmly at his doubles partner. He knew ice cream was going to get into the conversation somehow. "Sure."

"Hoi! Let's go to practice now!"

**Behind a tree…**

_Kikumaru and Oishi_. Inui was doing his daily data gathering. He was currently listing who was going with whom to the dance.

_Momoshiro and Echizen_

_Tezuka and Fuji (76 percent.** If** they were to show up.)_

_Kawamura and ?_

_Kaidoh and ?_

_Kikumaru and Oishi_

Inui went over his list again and crossed out Kaidoh.

/Low 21 percent that he's going to go. Probably doesn't even remember there is a dance./

After flipping through some pages, Inui seemed to be satisfied with his data. He shut his notebook and preceded to the tennis courts.

Approaching the tennis courts, Inui heard Momoshiro's loud voice. It seemed like Momoshiro and Kaidoh were in another brawl. Inui looked around and noticed that their buchou wasn't there yet so it saved them the trouble of running laps…for the moment.

When Inui entered the courts, he saw Momoshiro rolling all over the floor, clutching his sides. He was laughing and Kaidoh's face was as red as Kikumaru's hair. He looked as if he was about to explode. Inui was about to step in to stop his two kouhai from doing anything stupid when he caught some of the words that were coming out of Momoshiro's mouth.

"HAHAHA…Mamushi…HAHAHA…has…a..date…HAHAHA!"

The crowd around the two turned their heads to look at Kaidoh. Those who knew what was coming started walking backwards, away from the fuming viper. Oishi was trying to calm Kaidoh down but even he took a step back. Eiji, who was getting scared, clung to Oishi's back. Echizen was leaning against the fence, sipping on Ponta, and looking bored. Fuji was just standing there looking amused. Inui sweat dropped. Fuji just loved watching people suffer.

Kaidoh was practically on fire with anger. He bent down and pulled Momoshiro up by the collar up to his face.

"Say…that…again…" hissed out Kaidoh.

"Pffff…So…who are you…going with…?" Momo couldn't hold it in anymore. He burst out laughing in Kaidoh's face which earned him a forceful push to the fence. Momo was still too busy laughing to notice that he had been pushed.

Inui raised an eyebrow. Kaidoh? Going to the dance? Was this a joke?

"Shut up! Who said I was going?" said Kaidoh. He was still heaving with anger and was about to pounce on Momoshiro if he said any more. Not to mention he was still beet red.

Inui was about to walk in and calm Kaidoh down when Sojiroh was already there, calmly talking to Kaidoh with a hand on his shoulder.

Sojiroh seemed to get through to Kaidoh since practically a minute later, he walked away, grabbed his racket from the floor and walked to a court and started practicing serves. Everyone was in silence and they were awed at how Sojiroh calmed Kaidoh down in a matter of seconds.

Inui was pissed. It was usually him that went to calm Kaidoh down and it took minutes to calm him down. Usually he had to threaten him with Inui juice. Sojiroh just said a few words, which Inui didn't hear, and Kaidoh had calmed down. Inui was pissed, but he didn't let it show.

"Okay everyone, back to practice before Tezuka gets back," shouted Oishi. Everyone went back to what they were doing. Inui was about to find a corner to sulk in when Sojiroh passed by. It reminded him of the fact that he was finished with his menu and needed to give it to him before he forgot.

"Sojiroh-san, here's your new menu," said Inui handing him a piece of paper.

"Ah. Thank you Inui-sempai," said Sojiroh as he skimmed through the paper. "Kaoru was right! You are good."

Oh yeah! Kaidoh. Now that he reminded him, Inui was curious about who he was going with to the dance.

"By the way Sojiroh-san, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm? Yeah, sure," said Sojiroh ask he folded his paper and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Who is Kaidoh going with to the dance?" Straight out forward.

Sojiroh was surprised. Kaoru said that this was Seigaku's data man and he didn't know who his teammate's date was? This was interesting.

Sojiroh looked up to Inui's face and saw it immediately. Jealously was written all over his face. A playful grin replaced his smile.

"Saa…who knows?" said Sojiroh as he turned and walked.

"Are you going to tell me?"

Sojiroh turned back and flashed a smirk. "I'm. Not. Telling." And walked away, leaving Inui dumbfounded. Sojiroh had to keep himself from bursting out laughing. Inui's face was just too funny.

"That was just too easy," Sojiroh said to himself.

* * *

**Saturday Night 7:30pm. Kaidoh's Residence**.

"Yo Kaoru!" shouted Sojiroh as he opened the door to Kaidoh's room.

Kaidoh looked up and blinked a couple of times at the guy standing at his room entrance. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with a dark blue tie and black dress pants. His jet black hair was hiding behind a backward baseball cap and he was wearing his glasses instead of contacts.

"What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?" asked a bewildered Kaidoh.

Sojiroh was just shocked. Here he was, picking up his date, and the idiot didn't even know why he was here. Sojiroh let out a sigh. He should've known he would forget the minute he entered the room.

"I'm here to pick up my date! Tonight's the dance. Hurry up and change!"

"W-what? I'm not going!" declared Kaidoh.

"Yes, you are!" pushed Sojiroh.

"I have nothing to wear!" Kaidoh countered.

"Fine."

Kaidoh thought he had won and let out a sigh of relief.

"-I'll find something for you!" said Sojiroh was a smile and started digging into Kaidoh's closet.

Kaidoh silently cursed his friend. Why did he have to go? Now he had to endure more of that baka Momoshiro's laughter.

"Don't worry. Momo's not going to laugh. I'll make sure of it," said Sojiroh from the closet.

Kaidoh let out a small smile. His friend always knew what to say to make him feel better.

"How about this?" said Sojiroh after what seemed like awhile. He finally remerged from the closet with a loose baby blue t-shirt and some black jeans.

"That's not formal," stated Kaidoh after looking at what it was.

"So? It'll look good on you. Just try it on," insisted Sojiroh.

Kaidoh let out another sigh. He might as well admit defeat. He was going to lose anyway so why waste all that time fighting when he knew he was going to lose? Kaidoh got up from his desk, walked over, took the clothes, and went into the bathroom to change.

A minute later, Kaidoh came back into the room with the clothes Sojiroh picked out on.

"Kaoru! I knew you would look good in it! I am so good!"

"Hn."

"Okay! Now that you're changed we can go! Come on!" said Sojiroh happily as he dragged Kaidoh out of the house.

"Kaidoh-san, we'll be leaving now," said Sojiroh politely as they went out the door.

"Okay. Have fun you two," said Kaidoh-san as she waved from the door.

* * *

**Seigaku 7:40pm. Gym.**

"Wow Kaoru, look! It looks so nice and there are so many people too!" exclaimed Sojiroh.

Kaidoh didn't get what was so exciting about this. He had a bored look on his face as Sojiroh stood admiring the decorations and the people.

"Come on, Kaoru! Let's go over there! I think I see Arima-kun and he's with his date. Ooh wow, it's Mizumoto-chan." Sojiroh had barely dragged Kaidoh a few steps when Kaidoh stopped all of sudden. Sojiroh looked back and wondered what was wrong with him. He saw that Kaidoh had turned his head to look to the side with his head down.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked Sojiroh. Then he turned his head to face the front and noticed what the problem was. There was Inui and Toriumi. Inui seemed to be staring at Kaidoh's reaction and Toriumi was just smiling.

"Inui-sempai, Toriumi-sempai," greeted Sojiroh.

Inui just nodded and continued to stare at Kaidoh. He couldn't believe that Kaidoh was here and that his date was SOJIROH! Why hadn't he seen this before? And Kaidoh looked so good in that outfit. Inui opened his mouth to say something but Sojiroh beat him to it.

"Kaoru we came here to dance, so let's go!" pouted Sojiroh.

/Damn that Sojiroh! Always getting in the way/ thought Inui.

Sojiroh turned back to the couple in front of him. "Well, we'll be getting out of your way now. Have fun sempais," said Sojiroh as he pulled Kaidoh away from them.

"Wow, Sojiroh-kun looked so adorable tonight. And Kaidoh-kun looked just as great, right?" said Toriumi.

"Hn," was all Inui could say but damn! Kaidoh did look so good!

"Inui, look! We can take pictures! Let's go take a picture," said Toriumi, already pulling Inui with her.

"Kaoru, let's dance," said Sojiroh.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Fine! Then I'm going to find someone who will dance with me!"

"You go do that," said Kaidoh as he turned away.

/That guy! Sometimes he is such a party pooper! Oh well I know there are lots of girls that would want to dance. Ooh there's one…/

"Excuse me?"

"Waah! It's Sojiroh-kun!" Girls were already squealing! This has got to be too easy!

"Would any of you girls like to dance?" ask Sojiroh politely.

The girls were squealing again. They were all fighting to get a dance with him.

"Wait, chill. I have enough time to dance with all of you!" That seemed to calm them down a little. Sojiroh picked one and lead her to the dance floor and started with his 'fun'.

Kaidoh was sitting at a table for two with his head lying on his arm. He had been turning down dances with his fan club. Kaidoh was even surprised he even had any. They just kept coming and coming. It had taken Kaidoh a lot of time to turn down each girl politely. He was known to be a viper but it didn't mean that he had to be rude and disrespectful too!

Along with the fan girls, Kaidoh had ended up seeing Inui and Toriumi together a lot. He saw them so much that he had to constantly move to different tables to avoid seeing them. Just seeing them pissed him off. Kaidoh always had a hard time controlling his feelings so he tried avoiding them rather than deal with them. Now that he had come to terms with his feelings for his sempai, there wasn't anything he could do about them since his sempai was taken already.

Next on the list of why Kaidoh didn't want to come to the dance was the crowd. It was so crowded with so many people and with the lights, it made it really stuffy in here. Good thing Kaidoh was wearing a t-shirt or else he swore he would have died.

Then it was the music. He knew that they were going to play those lovey dovey songs so that couples could dance. Kaidoh was going to burst if he heard it. He always avoided it and had to sit and listened to the song as girls after girls came up and asked him to dance. The number of people always surprised him. Kaidoh just didn't understand how people's minds worked. So far into the dance there wasn't a single love song yet so he didn't have to-

"Next we'll be playing a song for all those couples out there," said the DJ.

Kaidoh, who was still thinking, didn't hear the announcement until the song started.

_There's a place in my heart_

_That I go when I dream_

_A place that nobody can see_

_Every night I see_

_love_

_I see someone who's waiting_

_Waiting for someone like me_

_He must be out there_

_Somewhere, someone for me_

/Damn! Gotta get out of here/ though Kaidoh as he saw couples pairing up. He got up and started walking towards the exit, which unfortunately was all the way across the gym since he kept moving.

_Tell me how long_

'_Till I'm not just dreaming_

_How long, 'til somebody cares_

_How long, 'til I meet an angel_

_And give him my heart, _

_When can I start_

_How long 'till I fall in_

_love_

Kaidoh was starting to think about Inui now. He was going as fast as he could towards the exit but there were too many people.

_I sit every night_

_By my window just wishing_

_And searching for one perfect star_

_Can anyone hear me_

_Dunno if you're listening_

_Please send him right here_

_To my_

_arms_

_He must be out there_

_Somewhere, waiting for me_

Kaidoh finally reached the exit. He felt someone watching him and turned around which he regretted. There was Inui and his girlfriend. Hugging each other's bodies during the slow dance.. And he was staring at Kaidoh. Inui gave Kaidoh a small smile,

which Kaidoh chose to ignore and turned around again and left.

_Tell me just how long, will it be..._

Kaidoh could still hear the music in the hallways. He decided to just stay awhile and then he'd find Sojiroh to tell him that he was leaving. Kaidoh kept walking. He didn't know where he was going until he got arrived at the roof door. Kaidoh

opened the door and let the cool air rush by him. He walked over to the rail and leaned over it, looking over the campus.

/Why didn't I smile back…/ thought Kaidoh. He should've but he couldn't, not when Inui had Toriumi in his arms. It hurt a lot. Just watching the one you love, love someone else. They hardly talked anymore. Inui didn't even need him as a friend…

Then it hit Kaidoh. Hard.

/He doesn't need me as a doubles partner, He doesn't need me as a friend, he doesn't need me…/

Kaidoh's eyes were getting watery, his eye site getting blurry, but he refused to let the tears fall. Kaidoh mustered up all his strength and willed himself not to cry. Boys didn't cry. He wasn't going to cry. Kaidoh Kaoru WON'T cry!

A few moments passed and Kaidoh regained control over his emotions again. Now his face showed no signs of emotion, no sign of hurt or pain; there was nothing. Kaidoh let out a sigh and turned around to sit on the floor with his back against the fence. He brought his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs and laid his head on top of his knees. Kaidoh closed his eyes and just sat there and let silence take over.

**Back in the gym…**

Inui was pondering why Kaidoh had acted like that. He felt a slight stab at his heart when Kaidoh just walked away. Kaidoh didn't return after he left during that song. Inui should know since he'd been glancing at the door every 5 seconds.

Toriumi knew something was wrong with her boyfriend and decided to give him time to think about it.

"Inui-kun! I want to go and dance with Sojiroh. Do you mind?" said Toriumi sweetly.

"Uh? Ooh yeah, sure," said Inui and then his mind drifted back to Kaidoh.

Toriumi cocked her head to the side and stared at her boyfriend's face. Then she turned to see what he was staring at. /Hmm…haven't seen Kaidoh-kun around…Ah…/ She had put 2 and 2 together. Now she had to think of a plan. Oh who cares, she'd just tell him straight forward.

"Inui-kun, Kaidoh-kun is on the roof-" Toriumi didn't even get to finish her sentence before Inui just got up and ran out the door.

"-top." Toriumi smiled and just shook her head. /I really don't understand him…/

/Now on to Sojiroh-kun…I could use that guy…/ Toriumi thought, and bounced off looking for the object of her thoughts.

Inui was walking up the stairs that lead to the roof. He was so out of it when he found out where Kaidoh was. He was glad that Kaidoh hadn't left yet. When he got to the top, he reached out and pushed open the door. What he saw on the roof made the heartache he had grow even more. Kaidoh was curled up in a defensive position and looked so calm and peaceful. When Inui had opened the door, Kaidoh's eyes popped open and were now staring at him.

Inui walked over to Kaidoh slowly and sat down next to him.

"Why are you up here?" Inui asked softly.

"I don't like dances."

"Then why'd you come?" Inui was really curious. He knew that Kaidoh didn't like dances so he was really surprised when he found out that Kaidoh was coming.

"Kei dragged me," replied Kaidoh, who shut his eyes again.

Inui was fuming on the inside. He should have known. It was Sojiroh who got Kaidoh to come. He knew it but he couldn't stop himself from fuming.

Both of them just sat there in silence, enjoying the feeling of the cool night air.

Suddenly Kaidoh moved and rested his head on Inui's shoulder.

"K-Kaidoh?"

"I'm tired," was all Inui got from Kaidoh the rest of the night. Inui felt so warm and relaxed with Kaidoh's head resting on his shoulder. The ache in his heart was now filled with the warmth that radiated from Kaidoh. Inui too, felt sort of tired so he fell asleep after resting his head lightly on top of his kouhai's head.

**3 hours later…**

"You know…we should really wake them up."

"Wait! This is a perfect picture moment!"

**FLASH**

* * *

**The next day…**

It was a sunny Sunday morning and Toriumi was sitting in the outside part of a café and sipping on a vanilla milkshake in front of her. She had her elbow on the table which was currently supporting her head. She was dead bored waiting for her boyfriend, who was extremely late. Toriumi figured out what to say last night and this wasn't something she did for the first time so she wasn't all that nervous. The hard part was getting him to admit it.

Suddenly a spiky hair lad came into the café, looking around. Toriumi noticed it was Inui and waved her hand in the air to get his attention. He saw her and put a smile on his face, and walked over to her. Once he had taken his seat a waiter came and took his order.

"Coffee please," said Inui.

The waiter nodded and went off to the back room to get his order. Once the waiter was gone, Inui turned his attention back to the one sitting in front of him.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

Toriumi looked him in the eye and said it out straight, "I want to break up."

Inui was speechless. He didn't know what to say. He found his throat dried and he couldn't get a word through.

"I don't think it's working out. I'm sorry."

"W-why?" Inui finally found his voice.

At that Toriumi broke eye contact. "This means nothing."

"W-what do you mean 'this means nothing'. This means everything. I love you," argued Inui.

"No you don't," said Toriumi quietly.

"What are you talking about! Of course I do!" Inui was getting irritated.

"No you don't! You love Kaidoh! I can see it in your eyes. It's written all over your face!"

"No…I…don't…"

"Yes, you do."

"No…I don't."

"YES YOU DO! STOP LYING TO YOURSELF." Toriumi was losing her patience. This guy was really hard-headed.

Inui had to take a few minutes to think it over. Then realization dawned upon Inui. Maybe…maybe he did love his kouhai…It was hard to admit to his feelings when he'd been running away from it.

Inui lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Toriumi smiled in triumph. "No need to apologize. It's okay. Just go," she said as she went back to sipping her milkshake.

Inui was getting up when he wondered about something. "I just want to ask you something."

"Hmm?" lifting her head.

"How did you know? Even I didn't notice it."

Toriumi flashed him a smirk. "I can't be a tensai's cousin without learning a trick or two."

Inui gave her a smile and left.

Inui looked at his watch. 2:48pm. Kaidoh was probably by the bridge training so that's where he headed to.

Inui was glowing with happiness. He couldn't wait to see Kaidoh. Inui reached the bridge and at the top of the hill he saw what he least expected he would see. Yes, he did see Kaidoh but he also saw Sojiroh and from the looks of it, it looked like they were…

…kissing.

* * *

**That was a plot twist...tell me what you think! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Any ideas on the next chapter?**


	6. Chapter 6: My Happy Ending

HEY! Thanks for all the people who has put up with my mindless ideas. This is the last installment of the story so please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6: My Happy Ending**

Inui couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kaidoh and Sojiroh were kissing. Inui took a step back. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it.

/This isn't happening./ He took another step back.

/Why…? How/ Another step back. Inui turned around sharply and ran away from the scene. He ran from the pain, from his feelings and most of all, he ran away from Kaidoh.

The pain was too much for him. Inui felt like he couldn't breathe. He clutched his chest to reduce the pain but it didn't work. His eyes were getting watery and blurry but he blinked away the tears. He refused to let even one tear fall. He ran all the way, slammed the front door, ran upstairs to his room and shut the door. Inui leaned his back against his door, trying to reduce the pain in his chest. He slid down and sat on the floor, hugging his knees for comfort. Tears were escaping his eyes, flowing freely down his face. Inui shut his eyes and sobbed in silence as darkness took over.

**Kaidoh Residence Kaidoh's room**

"Fssshhh…Forget it," said Kaidoh as he threw his pencil down on his text book. There was no use trying to concentrate now. Kaidoh sat back in his chair and stretched. His mind was in chaos now. He really didn't know what to do. Everything caused so many problems. This was why he avoided having friends. As nice as it was, there were always problems that came with it. Ah…the price of happiness.

Without thinking much, Kaidoh got up, grabbed a towel and went to take a shower.

_20 MINUTES LATER…_

Kaidoh came out of the steaming bathroom dressed in white shorts and a loose black tank top and dried his hair with a towel. Once he got into his room, he shut the door quietly and walked to his bed to sit down. Kaidoh, still in deep thought, just sat there, unknowingly staring at a picture. Fuji had taken the picture of him and Inui after their first doubles match. He reached over, picked up the frame and ran his finger over Inui's face.

/Inui-sempai…/

Thinking of Inui reminded Kaidoh of the events that happened this evening. Something he never would have saw coming…

**Flashback**

"_K-Kaoru…I-I don't know how you d-do this," said Sojiroh as he came to a halt, breathing heavily. _

"_It's just a warm up lap," said Kaidoh casually as he walked over to his bag and took out a water bottle and threw it to Sojiroh._

_Sojiroh caught it with ease. "That was not just a w-warm up lap! Y-you r-ran more than you were s-suppose to! W-way more! I don't t-think I've ever r-ran that much even in tennis," complained Sojiroh._

"_You could've stopped you know," Kaidoh muttered._

"_Yeah, but that would've meant I would lose."_

"_By your looks, you already lost," countered Kaidoh._

"_Whatever, I'm just going to sit here for the rest of the time we're here. Practice was hard enough today so I think I'll take a rest now," said Sojiroh as he plopped down on the grass and laid back._

_Kaidoh just shrugged him off and continued with his regular training. _

_After about an hour the sky was starting to get dark and Kaidoh finished up and packed back everything. He turned around to ask Sojiroh if he was ready, only to find out he was still sitting on the grass with a blank look on his face and staring at the sky._

"_Kei, let's go…" Kaidoh started but was suddenly pulled down by Sojiroh and ended up sitting next to him._

"_Kei, I'm hungry, let's-"_

"_I have something to tell you," said Sojiroh in a dead serious voice._

_Kaidoh looked his friend in the eye, seemingly searching to see if this was a joke. When he didn't find anything he nodded for Sojiroh to continue._

"_I-I…"_

"_What is it?" Kaidoh was getting irritated. Not only was he hungry, but he was really tired and all he wanted was to go home and lie on his bed._

"_I love you," Sojiroh blurted out._

_Kaidoh was shocked. He didn't know what to do or what to say. So when Sojiroh leaned in to kiss him, Kaidoh didn't respond and just stayed frozen for a couple seconds before his brain started functioning again. _

_Kaidoh moved his head to the side to break off the kiss gently. Sojiroh was his best friend and he didn't want to do anything to upset him._

"_Kei, you know about my feelings for Inui-sempai…" muttered Kaidoh. He was now looking away from his friend, instead looking at the grass that seemed so interesting._

"_I know, but I had to try to see if there was anything, right?"_

"_I'm sorry…" Kaidoh knew he couldn't do anything anymore. He was a useless friend. Saying sorry was the only thing he could do right now._

"_Don't be, I didn't regret what I did."_

_His friend was really understanding…_

"_Why?" Kaidoh finally got enough courage to look at his friend now._

_Sojiroh turned to face Kaidoh and gave him a small smile. "Because happiness comes from the risks we take."_

_Kaidoh looked down. He didn't understand. "What if the risks lead to sadness, suffering, and rejection?"_

_Sojiroh laughed at the simple question his friend asked. "Risks can lead either way. If you've never felt sadness or rejection, how would you know what happiness and acceptance felt like?"_

_Kaidoh was silent and let it sink in._

"_We can avoid taking the risks, but we'd be asking ourselves 'What if I did this' or 'What if I did that'. We'd be wondering our whole life, not knowing. I don't want to wonder Kaoru, I want to know, and I know you're the same too."_

_Kaidoh was started to wonder when his friend had gotten so smart. Or maybe he was just plain stupid…_

"_Anyway the point is- we take these kinds of risk in search of happiness." _

_Sojiroh raised his hand to lift Kaidoh's chin to face him._

"_Are you willing to take that risk for your happiness, Kaoru?"_

**End of Flashback**

"_Are you willing to take that risk for your happiness, Kaoru?"_

That phase that Sojiroh had said was still in his head. He didn't know what to do. He was tired of just wondering. Sojiroh was right, he did want to know. Wondering wouldn't get him anywhere…

With all the overwhelming thoughts and the additional stress that was weighing down on him, Kaidoh was really tired and fell asleep the instant he closed his eyes.

"_Are you willing to take that risk for your happiness, Kaoru?"_

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Kaidoh was walking towards the clubhouse when he saw a rather large group of third years talking. Kaidoh just ignored them until the name Inui caught his attention. Whatever they were talking about made Kaidoh stop in his tracks.

"…broke…"

"ALREADY!"

"…are you sure?"

"…I heard her tell…"

"…the whole school knows now…"

"…Inui and Toriumi broke up."

The last bit surprised Kaidoh. He just stood there stunned and flinched a little when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw it was Sojiroh, who by the looks of it, was greatly amused at the reaction he got.

They walked together in silence until Sojiroh broke it.

/He always likes to break the silence…/ thought Kaidoh as he let out a sigh when Sojiroh spoke.

"So…I guess you found out, huh?"

Kaidoh nodded.

"Well, here's your chance. Are you going to take it? Or just let it slip away from you?"

"But he just broke up…"

"Don't worry. I heard that he was fine with it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes already! Stop worrying," Sojiroh half-shouted.

Kaidoh was once again, back in deep thought. He was only half focused during practice, but it didn't stop him from picking a fight with Momoshiro ("Momoshiro, Kaidoh, 20 laps for disturbing practice," Tezuka ordered.) and getting laps for it.

After Kaidoh ran the laps, they were practicing doubles matches and Kaidoh was relieved to find out that Echizen and Inui were waiting for them to finish so they could start practice. Kaidoh was so happy to be able to play doubles again with his doubles partner, but during the middle, Kaidoh found out his partner wasn't as enthusiastic as he was. Inui was really out of the game. He stood there half the time so Kaidoh was covering for him a lot. Their combination was worse than Momo and Echizen's and Inui refused to cooperate with Kaidoh. When Inui did hit the ball it was always out. They were losing 5-3. How they even got 3 games was a wonder to Echizen when their coordination was the worst he'd ever seen.

After shaking hands with Echizen and Momo (who was gloating) they went off the courts and sat on the bench. Kaidoh noted that Inui sat farther away than usual. Kaidoh turned and faced Inui. He made his decision. He was going to take the risk. He just had to know if his sempai had a special place for him in his heart like Kaidoh had for Inui.

"Fssshh…Inui-sempai?"

Whatever Inui was thinking of, Kaidoh had just broken him out of it.

"Yes," said Inui as he continued to stare at the match in front of them.

"Can we talk…? After school?" asked Kaidoh nervously.

"About what, Kaidoh?" Inui still refused to look at him.

"Fsssh…You'll find out after school. Meet me at the front gates," said Kaidoh before he got up and walked away. Inui turned and stared at Kaidoh's back. What was so important that had to be said after school? Inui just went back into his brooding. He really wasn't in the mood to collect more data now. (INUI NOT WANTING TO COLLECT DATA? WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TOO!)

* * *

Inui left practice sometime after his talk with Kaidoh. He was sitting on the floor with one leg drawn up to his chest and leaning against the wall of the clubhouse. He didn't know what to do anymore. 

"He's been sitting there since Kaoru talked to him."

"It's your fault! I blame you. I had them going in the right direction and you ruin it!"

"Look, I said I was sorry already!"

"Sorry isn't going to help him forget what he saw!"

And the arguing went on between the two, who were currently hiding behind a couple of Sakura trees.

"Sojiroh, it's your mess, you fix it."

"I know, I know, why you think I'm skipping practice to do this!" said Sojiroh.

"If you know, then why am I here? I have better things to do than to help my kouhai ambush some guy."

"You told me to fix it so I'm fixing it," Sojiroh was getting irritated. Who knew his senpai was so annoying?

"Whatever, but you're buying me ice-cream later!" stated said senpai.

Sojiroh rolled his eyes. "Che…you're going to get fat from eating it, Toriumi-senpai."

"That'll be my problem. But anyways, why do we have to ambush him? Can't you just tell him face to face?" said Toriumi.

"And risk losing my life?" retorted Sojiroh.

Toriumi shook her head in dismay. "…and you call yourself a man."

Sojiroh could do nothing but let out a sigh. This girl…he'd never understand girls.

Minutes passed in silence until Inui decided to get up.

"Now's our chance. GO!" whispered Sojiroh.

Toriumi rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day and got up with the ropes in her hand.

Sojiroh ran and tackled Inui from the back and pinned him down long enough so that Toriumi could tie his hands and feet together. Then each picking up one end of him walked into the clubhouse and locked the door.

Inui was too deep in his thoughts to realize what happened. Soon his brain started functioning properly and looked around at where he was. He was sitting on the bench in the clubhouse with the company of his ex-girlfriend and that guy that took Kaidoh away from him.

"I see a new test subject for my new drink," said Inui calmly.

The mention of a new drink made Sojiroh jerk back a couple of steps. While Toriumi, who had never heard of any drinks, just stood there looking from Inui to Sojiroh confusedly.

"Heh…heh…just listen to me…before you get…any new drinks out."

"If you wanted to talk, you didn't have to tie me up."

Toriumi threw her hands in the air and shouted, "Ha! I told you!"

"Would you have listened to me?"

Inui glared. "No."

Sojiroh just decided to get to the point before anymore drinks were involved. "Look I know you saw me and Kaoru kissing."

Another glare.

"But it's not what you think. I kissed him."

"Toriumi-chan, could to go to the third locker from the right and take out the bottle with the name Sojiroh."

Sojiroh gulped. There was a juice with his name on it already? That wasn't good.

"W-wait! S-stop don't get it! Kaoru didn't respond to the kiss. He loves you more than anything. It wasn't his fault. It was my fault. I'm sorry! I'm sorry. Don't hate Kaoru. I'm sorry! I don't want to drink anything!" said Sojiroh really fast and ran out the door of the clubhouse.

"H-he loves m-me?" muttered Inui to himself.

Toriumi, who surprisingly was still in the room, just looked like she was about to kill Inui.

/For a smart guy, you really are dumb/

Toriumi let out a sigh and walked over to Inui, sat behind him on the bench and started to untie the knots that bound his hands together.

"I can't believe you got jealous over that dimwit," muttered Toriumi.

"I was NOT jealous over him," said Inui in small voice and Toriumi moved to crouch on the floor to work on the ropes there.

Toriumi had to hold back the laughter that was building up. "fufu…sure you weren't. Just don't go poisoning him later okay?"

Inui looked down at her suspiciously after she untied the binds on his feet. "Why…?"

"The guy still owes me ice-cream after school. He's not getting off the hook that easily!" she said cheerfully. Inui just sweat dropped.

"Well Ja then," said Toriumi as she picked up her tennis bag and went out the already wide open doors.

"Ja."

**After practice- Front Gates**

Kaidoh was pacing back and forth. He really didn't know what to say. He couldn't back out now. He was tired of wondering. Kaidoh wanted to know. After much more pacing back and forth he heard footsteps approaching and looked up.

It was Inui. Kaidoh soon found his lips forming a small smile.

"You came."

"Ah."

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" asked Inui.

"I-I…" Kaidoh tried to continue but found that he couldn't.

Kaidoh tried again. He opened his mouth and closed and open and close.

Inui was just confused and he stood there, tilting his head to the side waiting for Kaidoh to continue.

Kaidoh took a deep breath. It was now or never…

"Inui-senpai, I love you. I've always loved you," said Kaidoh and turned his head the other way so the senpai wouldn't see how embarrassed he was.

Inui broke out into a big smile. He leaned down and captured Kaidoh's lips in a sweet, gentle kiss. Kaidoh's eye's widened but slowly closed his eyes and returned the kiss. When they broke off almost reluctantly, Inui pulled Kaidoh into a tight hug.

"I love you too," murmured Inui to Kaidoh's ear. Kaidoh could do nothing but smile and wrap his arms around the one he loved the most, never letting go.

OWARi!

* * *

Maybe I should write a squel...Iono...Don't for get to review! I'd really love you know what you guys think of this! xP 


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